Anyone know where I can find information on older turntables (value, quality, etc)? I have a couple of Technics tables that each have aftermarket cartridges/needles and their own problems, and I wonder if they're worth fixing up. I've looked around, but prices on things like cartridges seem to vary wildly._________________

Yeah it is. Find a little timer at RadioShack or something that will go between your record player and your outlet, so that when an hour or so elapses it shuts off.

Not the best idea. Many turntables have a bit of a "kickback" as the platter stops spinning, the stylus should always be out of the groove when you stop the motor. This could cause more damage than leaving it in the runout all night. Best to get a safety raiser if you're concerned, not the cheapest option but the best.

HotBlack wrote:

Source for cheap/decent priced hard plastic/acrylic turntable covers?

Find a company that deals in acrylic and have them make a custom one. This is what I did, it was a lot cheaper than a branded dust cover. Depends on your model. You may be able to find a broken / for parts version of your model with a decent cover. Dust covers are unreasonably expensive.

that effect is pretty much negligible and not any worse than lifting the stylus off the record or putting it on the record. If you use a spherical stylus it's not going to cause much of a problem, even some elliptical ones won't be damaged that way. Letting the deck run over night will cause more stress to the stylus. The kickback will be much less than one revolution. That is unless you have some strange deck with an extremely violent kickback.

Quality styli are not meant to be pushed backwards. Even a slight kickback could cause serious damage if the cantilever were something super-fine like beryllium or ruby. Granted I don't expect most to have something of that caliber but unless you're using a "skratch" cart designed for such abuse it's not a good idea. Reverse rotation can also damage records, an elliptical or microline could create a gouge that leaves a permanent click. Get an auto turntable, a safety raiser or just sleep to CDs.

I have a question about tapes that may be stupid... and I figure there's no reason to make a whole new thread just for that.

I recently got a tape that has really wobbly audio (fades in and out, just generally sounds like shit) on the first 3 minutes or so, and then levels out and plays fine after that. I'm pretty sure I've narrowed it down to being the media and not my tape deck as I can't recreate it with any other tapes I have. Is there a way to fix this, or am I shit out of luck? Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

I have a question about tapes, and I figure there's no reason to make a whole new thread just for that.

I recently got a tape that has really wobbly audio (fades in and out, just generally sounds like shit) on the first 3 minutes or so, and then levels out and plays fine after that. I'm pretty sure I've narrowed it down to being the media and not my tape deck as I can't recreate it with any other tapes I have. Is there a way to fix this, or am I shit out of luck? Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

Find a company that deals in acrylic and have them make a custom one. This is what I did, it was a lot cheaper than a branded dust cover. Depends on your model. You may be able to find a broken / for parts version of your model with a decent cover. Dust covers are unreasonably expensive.

Yeah new hard dust covers are retardedly expensive so I'm always on the lookout for used dustcovers that might fit mine... thinking I might just try and make my own hehe_________________Myths (Vinyl) - click me

I'd be interested to hear someone with a little more know-how to chime in about this. The price-point for the upgraded version seems really fair.

Yeah I'm interested as well. It seems like a pretty good deal, not seeing much issues but what do I know.

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My gramps finally sent me his Thorens TD-124, complete with manual and all that shit, I'll post some pics soon. Needs a little work and a plinth block. Will be a while before I get it to optimum spinning levels, but very happy._________________www.nankingrecords.com

What about if the power slowly faded out rather then being immediately cut?
If the side is over is that still a factor?

actually it depends on the deck. A Technics 1200 will have the motor run out slowly when you cut the power off, actually I think most direct drive decks would behave that way, belt drives would probably just stop with the kickback described by drinks.

drinks wrote:

Quality styli are not meant to be pushed backwards. Even a slight kickback could cause serious damage if the cantilever were something super-fine like beryllium or ruby. Granted I don't expect most to have something of that caliber but unless you're using a "skratch" cart designed for such abuse it's not a good idea. Reverse rotation can also damage records, an elliptical or microline could create a gouge that leaves a permanent click. Get an auto turntable, a safety raiser or just sleep to CDs.

that's correct of course but I suspect the power off would happen in the runout area anyway, so the danger of getting a scratch in runout is not really a problem. I also guess most people have consumer grade styli, something like your regular Ortofon/Audio Technica/Stanton etc. carts. I'd also be anxious when using an expensive cart.